Test Pages

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

How wild chickens found their way this far north I cannot for the life of me begin to imagine. Someone with a perverse sense of humor perhaps, loaded a few of these birds in Key West and dumped them here, at the southern end of the Seven Mile Bridge, where against all odds they seem to be thriving.

Which may not be quite so surprising when you consider how much crap day trippers throw away after their picnics in this park.

I had a job on my hands righting all the trash barrels overturned by a strong wind the night before my visit to the park. Cheyenne checked them out with some intensity as I scraped up the contents and kicked them back into the barrels.

Veterans is a popular spot on sunny days and you will frequently see the parking lot jammed with cars. The waters are shallow and visitors love to wade out up to their waists miles out to sea... I like it here when I can hold out hope that I shall be alone with an incoming storm, a spectacular sunrise or a seascape suitable for pictures. It's almost always the case that I can get something to look at.

I came by here a couple of days later, a sunny afternoon and the place was packed, not just with chickens, but with people.

We spent an hour hanging out, Cheyenne and I, a couple of cars came and one parked right behind me as I sat at a picnic table reading and he just sat there engine running windows closed and the mechanical clatter broke the stillness so I moved to another table - there were plenty available! It was inconsiderate considering the empty lot but thoughtlessness is pretty much par for the course for humanity I find, hence my preference for solitude.

Another bonus is the toilet situation here which can be quite useful...

...and can buy you some time to stand around and take a few more pictures of the sunrise, and the clouds and the palms and all the usual South Florida stuff one expects to see.

And in the end one needs a nap, a respite from so much excitement.

That my Labrador doesn't swim is a shame but she makes up for it on land.

Key West Diary

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